Systems and methods for a dual drive generator

ABSTRACT

A gas turbine may include a rotational shaft that couples to a first generator and a second generator. The gas turbine may include a controller that receives one or more load parameters that corresponds to a first set of electrical properties associated with one or more loads coupled to the first generator, the second generator, or both, that receives one or more sensed parameters from one or more sensors that measure a second set of electrical properties associated with the one or more loads, that determines one or more differences between the one or more load parameters and the one or more sensed parameters, and that controls one or more operations of the first generator, the second generator, or both based on the differences.

BACKGROUND

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbomachinery, and moreparticularly, to gas turbines used in power generation.

In power generation systems, turbines, such as gas turbines or steamturbines, may convert fuel and air (e.g., an oxidant) into rotationalenergy. For example, a gas turbine may compress the air, via acompressor, and mix the compressed air with the fuel to form an air-fuelmixture. A combustor of the gas turbine may then combust the air-fuelmixture and use energy from the combustion process to rotate one or moreturbine blades and a rotational shaft, thereby generating rotationalenergy. The rotational energy of a rotational shaft may then beconverted into electricity, via a generator, to be provided to anelectrical grid, a vehicle, or another load.

Various sub-systems of the gas turbine may be controlled to improveefficiency or power output of the gas turbine. For example, the gasturbine may include a controller (e.g., aproportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller) that controlstemperatures or pressures, among others. However, efficiencyimprovements provided from the controller may not account for all systeminefficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimeddisclosure are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended tolimit the scope of the claimed disclosure, but rather these embodimentsare intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of thedisclosure. Indeed, embodiments may encompass a variety of forms thatmay be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

In one embodiment, a gas turbine may include a rotational shaft thatcouples to a first generator and a second generator. The gas turbine mayalso include a controller that receives one or more load parameters thatcorrespond to a first set of electrical properties associated with oneor more loads coupled to the first generator, the second generator, orboth, that receives one or more sensed parameters from one or moresensors that measure a second set of electrical properties associatedwith the one or more loads, that determines one or more differencesbetween the one or more load parameters and the one or more sensedparameters, and that controls one or more operations of the firstgenerator, the second generator, or both based on the differences.

In another embodiment, a gas turbine system may include a rotationalshaft with a first side and a second side. The gas turbine system mayalso include a first generator that couples to the first side of therotational shaft. The gas turbine system may also include a secondgenerator that couples to the second side of the rotational shaft. Thegas turbine system may also include a controller that controls one ormore operations associated with the first generator, the secondgenerator, or both.

In yet another embodiment, a method may involve receiving, via aprocessor, one or more load parameters that corresponds to a first setof electrical properties associated with one or more loads coupled to afirst generator, a second generator, or both, wherein the firstgenerator and the second generator may couple to a shaft of a turbine.The method may also involve receiving, via the processor, one or moresensed parameters from one or more sensors configured to measure asecond set of electrical properties associated with the one or moreloads that couple to the first generator, the second generator, or both.The method may also involve determining, via the processor, one or moredifferences between the one or more load parameters and the one or moresensed parameters. The method may also involve controlling, via theprocessor, one or more operations of the first generator, the secondgenerator, the turbine, or any combination thereof, based on thedifferences.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a turbine-generator system, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a dual drive generator system thatcontrols one or more operating parameters of multiple generators, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a first schematic diagram depicting the power flowvia the dual drive generator system of FIG. 2, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a second schematic diagram depicting the power flowvia the dual drive generator system of FIG. 2, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a third schematic diagram depicting the power flowvia the dual drive generator system of FIG. 2, in accordance with anembodiment; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for providing adjustmentsto a dual drive generator system, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not bedescribed in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended tomean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements. One ormore specific embodiments of the present embodiments described hereinwill be described below. In an effort to provide a concise descriptionof these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may notbe described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to the manner in whichgenerators may be coupled to a rotational shaft of turbomachinery, suchas gas turbines, steam turbines, or compressors. Generally, a gasturbine may include one or more compressors, a combustor, and one ormore turbine blades. The gas turbine may receive an oxidant, such asair, in the one or more compressors that compress the air to a higherpressure. The air is mixed with fuel to form an air-fuel mixture that iscombusted by the combustor. Energy from the combustion process is usedto rotate turbine blades of the one or more turbines. The rotationalenergy of the turbine blades may rotate a shaft coupled to the turbineblades to drive one or more loads, such as a vehicle or an electricalgenerator. The electrical generator may be coupled to an electrical gridto provide power that is used for residential, industrial, or any othersuitable purpose.

Keeping the foregoing in mind, embodiments of the present disclosuredescribe systems and methods that account for two separate loads coupledto a single rotational shaft. In some embodiments, connecting twogenerators to the rotational shaft of a gas turbine to create a dualdrive generator may be useful to increase the flexibility in which theturbine can be employed. By way of example, one generator may be coupledto a gas turbine at an air intake side of the rotational shaft andanother generator may be coupled to the gas turbine at an exhaust sideof the rotational shaft. In this way, the two generators may be coupledto opposite ends of the same rotational shaft of the gas turbine. Thetwo generators sharing the same rotational shaft may eliminate one ofthe two rotational shafts and/or two gas turbines to drive the twogenerators.

By using both sides of the rotational shaft, as opposed to using oneside of the rotational shaft, the dual drive generator may efficientlyuse rotational energy of the rotational shaft to provide energy to twogenerators. In addition, the two generators may share the energyprovided via the rotational shaft without reducing operationalflexibility of the two generator systems. That is, the dual drivegenerator may use controllers to change the operation of each generatorindependently while providing energy via the same rotational shaft. Insome embodiments, the dual drive generator may have two exciters and twostarters for independent control of each of the generators attached tothe rotational shaft. For example, the first generator may operate toprovide a first amount of power and the second generator may operate toprovide a second amount of power. The two generators may provide thesame amount or different amounts of power. The power provided by each ofthe two generators may include real or reactive power.

In addition, the generators coupled to the dual drive generator may bedesigned to accommodate various types of arrangements. For instance, thefirst generator may provide power to a first load, the second generatormay provide power to a second load, and/or the first generator and thesecond generator may provide power to the same load. As such, the dualdrive generator may provide an improved solution to power generation atleast in part because it may reduce the physical requirements of havingtwo turbines to drive two generators. By eliminating one of therotational shafts and/or the second gas turbine, the physical weight andsize of the system may decrease, thereby reducing the costs and spaceinvolved in power generation applications.

By way of introduction, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of aturbine-generator system 10 that may be employed in the embodimentsdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 1, the turbine-generator system 10may include a turbine system 12, a generator 14, a switch 16, a switch18, a starter component 20, an exciter component 22, and an electricalgrid 24. The turbine system 12 may include any one or more turbines andmay be configured as a simple cycle or a combined cycle. By way ofexample, the turbine system 12 may include a gas turbine, a windturbine, a steam turbine, a water turbine, or any combination thereof.In the turbine-generator system 10, the mechanical work output by theturbine system 12 may rotate a shaft of the generator 14. In general,the generator 14 may then convert the rotation of the shaft intoelectrical energy that may be output to the electrical grid 24.

The starter component 20 may be a variable frequency drive, a loadcommutated inverter (LCI), or a similar type of electrical device thatmay output an alternating current (AC) voltage that may be provided to astator of the generator 14. In one embodiment, the starter component 20may receive an AC voltage from an AC voltage source 32 and may convertthe AC voltage into the controlled AC voltage, which may be provided tothe stator of the generator via the switch 18.

The exciter component 22 may include an electrical circuit that providesdirect current (DC) current and a DC voltage to field windings of arotor of the generator 14, thereby inducing a magnetic field within thegenerator 14. The magnetic field may then cause the rotor to spin insidethe generator and rotate the shaft of the generator 14. In addition tocreating the magnetic field within the generator 14, the excitercomponent 22 may be used to control the frequency, amplitude, and phaseproperties of the voltage output by the generator 14. As such, theexciter component 22 may be used to synchronize the voltage output bythe generator 14 with the voltage of the electrical grid 24 after thegenerator's shaft rotates at its rated speed.

The turbine system 12, the starter component 20, and the excitercomponent 22 may include controllers, such as a turbine controller 26, astarter controller 28, and an exciter controller 30, which may controlthe turbine system 12, the starter component 20, and the excitercomponent 22, respectively. The turbine controller 26, the startercontroller 28, and the exciter controller 30 may each include acommunication component, a processor, a memory, a storage, input/output(I/O) ports, and the like. The communication component may be a wirelessor wired communication component that may facilitate communicationbetween each component in the turbine-generator system 10, varioussensors disposed about the turbine-generator system 10, and the like.The processor may be any type of computer processor or microprocessorcapable of executing computer-executable code. The memory and thestorage may be any suitable articles of manufacture that may serve asmedia to store processor-executable code, data, or the like. Thesearticles of manufacture may represent non-transitory computer-readablemedia (i.e., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store theprocessor-executable code used by the processor to, among other things,perform operations that may be used to control the turbine system 12,the starter component 20, and the exciter component 22. Thenon-transitory computer-readable media may indicate that the media istangible and not a signal. The turbine controller 26, the startercontroller 28, and the exciter controller 30 may communicate with eachother via a communication network 34. The communication network 34 mayinclude an Ethernet-based network, such as the Unit Data Highway (UDH)provided by General Electric.

Generally, the turbine system 12 may rotate a shaft in the generator 14,such that the generator 14 outputs a voltage. The voltage output of thegenerator 14 may then be synchronized with the voltage of the electricalgrid 24 and provided to the electrical grid 24 via the switch 16. Theturbine controller 26 may respond to changes in the electricalproperties of the electrical grid 24 to synchronize the voltage outputof the generator 14.

In certain embodiments, the turbine controller 26, the startercontroller 28, and/or the exciter controller 30 may use sensors tomeasure and monitor electrical properties of the electrical grid 24. Assuch, the sensors may facilitate the controllers in monitoring theelectrical grid 24 for transient events such as a rise or fall in gridfrequency, a rise or fall in active power or reactive power of thegenerator 14, and the like. The transient event may include changes toelectrical properties such as voltage, current, power, power factor, andthe like.

The turbine controller 26 may adjust one or more operations of theturbine system 12 to provide stability between the electrical propertiesof the electrical grid 24 in view of sensed parameters from the sensors.As such, when the transient event occurs on the electrical grid 24, theturbine controller 26 may adjust the rotation of the turbine shaft orcompensate for a discrepancy between the sensed parameters of theelectrical grid 24 and the desired operation, or load parameters, of theelectrical grid 24.

Similarly, the turbine controller 26, the starter controller 28, and/orthe exciter controller 30 may adjust one or more operations of theturbine-generator system 10 to the electrical properties of theelectrical grid in view of the sensed parameters from the sensors. Adifference between the sensed parameters and load parameters may helpdetermine if an adjustment is performed. The turbine controller 26, thestarter controller 28, and/or the exciter controller 30 may implement anadjustment if the difference is outside a threshold. In this way, theturbine controller 26, the starter controller 28, and/or the excitercontroller 30 may adjust the power provided to the electrical grid 24 toadjust the electrical properties of the electrical grid 24 to thedesired operation.

In some embodiments, the turbine system 12 may drive two generatorsusing one rotational shaft in a dual drive generator system. In the dualdrive generator system the turbine controller 26, the starter controller28, and/or the exciter controller 30 may adjust either of the twogenerators, or the turbine system 12 to adjust the electrical propertiesof the electrical grid 24 to the a desired operation. It is noted thatby driving power generation from two generators from one rotationalshaft, the dual drive generator system may improve power generationmethods by possibly reducing costs, reducing physical requirements,increasing efficiency, all while maintaining the operational flexibilityof a two generator power generation system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a dual drive generator system 50,as described above. As shown in FIG. 2, the turbine system 12 mayinclude fuel nozzles 52, a fuel supply 54, and a combustor 56. Asdepicted, the fuel supply 54 routes a liquid fuel or gas fuel, such asnatural gas or syngas, to the dual drive generator system 50 through thefuel nozzle 52 and into the combustor 56. The combustor 56 ignites andcombusts the fuel-air mixture, and then passes hot pressurizedcombustion gases 57 (e.g., exhaust) into a turbine 58. Turbine bladesmay couple to a shaft 59 (e.g., rotational shaft), which couples toseveral other components throughout the dual drive generator system 50,as illustrated. As the combustion gases 57 pass through the turbineblades in the turbine 58, the turbine 58 rotates, which also causes theshaft 59 to rotate. Eventually, the combustion gas 57 may exit the dualdrive generator system 50 via an exhaust outlet 60.

In some embodiments, the compressor 62 may include compressor blades.The compressor blades may couple to the shaft 59, and may turn as theturbine 58 rotates the shaft 59. The shaft 59 may couple to a generator66, which may provide power via rotation of the shaft 59. In someembodiments, the shaft 59 may also couple to a generator 68, which mayalso provide power via rotation of the shaft 59. By way of example, thegenerators 66 and 68 are any suitable device that may provide power viathe rotational output of the turbine system 12, such as an externalmechanical generator, an electrical generator, a propeller of anairplane, and the like.

By way of operation, the turbine system 12 may receive air 70 (e.g.,cold air) via the air intake 64. The air 70 taken in by the turbinesystem 12 compresses into pressurized air 72 by rotating the compressorblades within the compressor 62. Pressurized air 72 may mix with fuel 74provided via the fuel nozzle 52 to produce a suitable mixture ratio forcombustion (e.g., a combustion that causes the fuel to more completelyburn, so as not to waste fuel or cause excess emissions).

The turbine system 12 also includes sensors 75 to acquire measurementsassociated with operation of the turbine system 12. The sensors 75 maycouple to the fuel nozzle 52, the combustor 56, the turbine 58, thecompressor 62, and the like. In certain embodiments, the exhaust outlet60 may couple to a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) to recover heatfrom the exhaust to provide steam for use in various applications suchas a steam turbine, which in turn may couple to an exhaust stack. Theexhaust stack may redirect the HRSG's exhaust gases into the atmosphere.Accordingly, the sensors 75 may also couple to the various power plantcomponents, such as the HRSG and the exhaust stack.

The sensors 75 may obtain various measurements regarding fluid,temperature, pressure, electrical properties, and the like. That is,certain sensors 75 may be used to measure properties of a gas, agas-liquid mixture, or a liquid, and certain sensors 75 may be used tomeasure electrical properties like voltage, current, power, powerfactor, and the like. For example, the sensor 75 coupled to thecompressor 62 may be an acoustic sensor to measure compressor outletpressure. As such, the sensors 75 may acquire measurements associatedwith operation of the turbine system 12. When operated in this way, thesensors 75 measurements may indicate one or more operations of theturbine system 12. The sensors 75 may transmit signals indicative of themeasurements to portions of the dual drive generator system 50 thatelectrically couple to the sensors 75. The transmitted signalsindicative of measurements are sensed parameters.

In some embodiments, a turbine controller 26 may electrically couple toone or more of the sensors 75 to receive signals indicative of one ormore operations of the turbine system 12. For example, the turbinecontroller 26 may receive a signal indicative of a measurement of thepower provided by the generators 66 and 68. The turbine controller 26may determine a difference between the sensed parameter indicative ofthe power measurement and the load parameter associated with the powermeasurement. If the difference is outside a threshold, the turbinecontroller may determine an adjustment to make to one or more operationsof the turbine system 12. The turbine controller 26 may make theadjustment to decrease the difference between the sensed parameter andthe load parameter, thereby bringing the difference within thethreshold. The turbine controller 26 may electrically couple to one ormore actuators 77 to perform the adjustment. The adjustment may includesending commands to implement the adjustment via control signals toadjust one or more operations of the turbine system 12. As such, theturbine controller 26 may send a signal to the actuator 77 coupled tothe fuel nozzle 52 to control flow of the fuel entering the fuel nozzle52, thereby controlling one or more operations of the turbine system 12and adjusting the power provided by the generators 66 and 68.

As described, the turbine controller 26 may additionally control one ormore operations of the turbine system 12 based the on the sensedparameters of the load. Similar to the previous example, the turbinecontroller 26 may receive sensed parameters indicative of the loadoperation in addition to sensed parameters of the operation of theturbine system 12. Generally, the turbine controller 26 may determine adifference between the sensed parameters of the load and the loadparameters for the load. If a difference is outside a threshold, theturbine controller 26 may determine an adjustment to make to the turbinesystem 12 to decrease the difference to be within the threshold. Theturbine controller 26 may proceed to control of the turbine system 12through transmitting signals indicative of the adjustment to theactuators 77. It is noted that the load may be the load of the turbinesystem 12 (e.g., the generator 66, the generator 68) or the load may bethe loads of the dual drive generator system 50 (e.g., the loadselectrically coupled to the generator 66 and/or the generator 68). Thus,based on the sensed parameters, the turbine controller 26 may adjust oneor more operations of the turbine system 12 to account for thedifference between the sensed parameter and load parameter.

In certain embodiments, the controllers (e.g., turbine controller 26,starter controller 28, exciter controller 30) may act to decreasedifferences between sensed parameters and load parameters until thedifference is within a threshold. The controllers may adjust therespective operations of the generators 66 or 68 in response to thedifference between the sensed parameter and the load parameter. Thecontrollers may adjust the operation of each of the generators 66 or 68,respectively. In this way, the controllers may independently adjust theelectrical properties of the respective outputs of each generator 66 and68. Through this, the controller may operate the generator 66 to providea first amount of power and may operate the generator 68 to provide asecond amount of power, independent of the power provided by thegenerator 66. In some embodiments, the first amount of power may equalthe second amount of power.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of the power flow of the dualdrive generator system 50, as described above. As shown in FIG. 3, thedual drive generator system 50 may include a starter 102, a starter 104,an exciter 106, an exciter 108, and a controller 80. The generators 66electrically couples to the starter 102 and to the exciter 106. Thegenerator 68 electrically couples to the starter 104 and the exciter108. The starters 102 and 104 may function similar to the startercomponent 20, respectively. The exciters 106 and 108 may functionsimilar to the exciter component 22, respectively. As described prior,the starters 102 and 104 and the exciters 106 and 108 may operate tochange one or more operations of the generators 66 and/or 68 via signalstransmitted to the starter controller 28, internal to starters 102 and104, or to the exciter controller 30, internal to exciters 106 and 108,respectively.

To elaborate, the controller 80 may signal an adjustment to the startercontroller 28, the exciter controller 30, and/or turbine controller 26to change operation of the starter 102 and/or 104, the exciter 106and/or 108, and/or the turbine system 12. Through a combination of theadjustments to the starters 102 or 104, the exciters 106 or 108, and/orthe turbine system 12, the controller 80 may adjust the operation of thegenerator 66 and/or 68. The outputs 110 and 112 may vary based on theoperation of the generators 66 and 68. In this way, the starters 102 and104, the exciters 106 and 108, and the turbine system 12 may facilitatein the variance of the outputs 110 and 112. As depicted, the controller80 may control the operations of the generators 66 and 68 to output thesame amount of power (e.g., MW₁).

An electrical grid 114 may electrically couple to the outputs 110 and112. The electrical grid 114 may function similar to the electrical grid24. The switch 116, similar to switch 16, may act to isolate the output110 and the generator 66 from the electrical grid 114. The switch 118,similar to switch 16, may act to isolate the output 112 and thegenerator 68 from the electrical grid 114. As illustrated, the outputs110 and 112 may both be an equivalent real power amount provided to thesame electrical grid 114. When operated in this manner, the real powerprovided to the electrical grid 114 may contribute to the overall powerprovided to the electrical grid 114. In some embodiments, the generator66 may provide reactive power and the generator 68 may provide realpower to the electrical grid 114.

FIG. 4 illustrates a second schematic diagram depicting the power flowvia the dual drive generator system 50, as described above. As depicted,the generator 66 may provide reactive power to the electrical grid 114via output 110. Additionally, the generator 68 may provide real power tothe electrical grid 114 via output 112. In some embodiments, thegenerators 66 and/or 68 may individually operate to provide reactivepower or real power. For example, the generator 66 may operate toprovide real power to the electrical grid 114 and the generator 68 mayoperate to provide reactive power to the electrical grid 114. Theelectrical properties of the electrical grid 114 may determine whetherto provide real power or to provide reactive power from the generators66 and 68. For example, the electrical grid 114 may indicate thatreactive power from the generators 66 and/or 68 may assist theelectrical grid 114 to maintain the stability of the electrical grid114. In this case, the controller 80 may provide a command to thestarter 102 and/or the exciter 106 to cause the generator 66 to outputthe reactive power.

In some embodiments, the sensors 75 disposed throughout the electricalgrid 114 may measure the electrical properties of the electrical grid114. The sensors 75 may transmit sensed parameters to the controller 80.The controller 80 may determine an adjustment to one or more operationsof the dual drive generator system 50 based on the difference betweenthe sensed parameters and the load parameters. The controller 80 maytransmit the adjustment to the turbine controller 26, the exciter 106 or108, and/or the starter 102 or 104. The controller 80, throughtransmitting the adjustment, thereby controls one or more operations ofthe dual drive generator system 50 based on the sensed parameter and theload parameter.

For example, if the electrical grid 114 is operating at a voltage, wherethe difference between the sensed voltage parameter (e.g., frequency)and the load voltage parameter is outside a threshold, the controller 80may signal an adjustment to the turbine controller 26 to operate theturbine system 12 to slow rotation of the shaft 59. By slowing rotationof the shaft 59, the controller 80 may reduce the frequency in whichboth of the generators 66 and 68 operates because the shaft 59 drivesboth of the generators 66 and 68. Additionally or alternatively, thecontroller 80 may signal an adjustment to the exciter controller 30 todecrease a voltage output provided to generator 66 or 68. By decreasinga voltage provided to one of the generators 66 or 68, the controller 80adjusts the power provided by one of the generators 66 or 68. Theadjustments made by the controller 80 may account for the differencebetween the sensed parameters and the load parameters through adjustingboth generators 66 and 68 or through adjusting one of the generators 66or 68.

As an additional example, a load parameter may include a balancedelectrical grid 114 (e.g., operating at unity power factor) as thedesired operation for the electrical grid 114. As such, the controller80 may adjust the operation of the turbine system 12, the generators 66,and/or the generator 68, such that the electrical grid 114 maintains thedesired operation defined by load parameter. The sensor 75 may transmita signal indicative of a sensed parameter (e.g., voltage, frequency) ofthe electrical grid 114 to the controller 80. The controller 80 may usethe difference between the sensed parameter and the load parameter todetermine an adjustment to the amount of real or reactive power thatgenerators 66 or 68 provide to the electrical grid 114 to maintain thedesired operation. As illustrated with the example, to account for thedifference, the controller 80 may operate the generator 66 to providereactive power, while the controller 80 may operate the generator 68 toprovide real power. As such, the controller 80 may adjust controlsignals provided to the starters 102 and 104 and the exciters 106 and108 to cause the generators 66 and 68 to output real and/or reactivepower to maintain the desired operation of the electrical grid 114.

As shown through the examples above, the generator 66 may provide afirst amount of reactive power and the generator 68 may provide a secondamount of real power to the electrical grid 114. In addition, it shouldbe noted that, in some embodiments, the generator 66 may provide a firstamount of real power to a first load and the generator 68 may provide asecond amount of real power to a second load, where the first load andthe second load use different amounts of power to operate.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 5 illustrates a third schematic diagramdepicting the power flow via the dual drive generator system 50, asdescribed above. As illustrated, the generator 66 may provide a firstamount of real power (e.g., MW₁) to a load 120 and the generator 68 mayprovide a second amount of real power (e.g., MW₂) to a load 122. Theloads 120 and 122 may be a circuit or a portion of the circuit thatconsumes power, such as, appliances, lights, electrical circuits ofbuildings, equipment, and the like. In some embodiments, the loads 120and 122 may be various combinations of electrical grids and/or powerislands.

As discussed earlier, the starters 102 and 104 and the exciters 106 and108 may determine the operation of the generators 66 and 68,respectively. The controller 80 may independently operate the starter102, the exciter 106, the starter 104, and exciter 108. Based on inputreceived from the controller 80, the starter 102 and/or the exciter 106may operate the generator 66 to provide the first amount of power viaoutput 110 to the load 120. Similarly, the starter 104 and/or theexciter 108 may operate the generator 68 to provide the second amount ofpower via output 112 to the load 122. The output 110 may provide adifferent amount of power than the output 112. Although the presentdisclosure of FIG. 5 is described as providing real power with thegenerators 66 and 68, it should be noted that the controller 80 mayoperate the generators 66 and 68 to provide different amounts of realand/or reactive power in a variety of arrangements in addition to thecombinations described.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method130 for monitoring and providing adjustments to the dual drive generatorsystem 50. Although the method 130 is described below as being performedby the controller 80, it should be noted that the method 130 may beperformed by any suitable processor to adjust any suitable dual drivegenerator system. Moreover, although the following description of themethod 130 is described in a particular order, it should be noted thatthe method 130 may be performed in any suitable order.

Referring to FIG. 6, at block 132, the controller 80 may receive a loadparameter. The load parameter may define the desired operation of a load(e.g., load 120, load 122, electrical grid 114, electrical grid 24)coupled to the generators 66 or 68. The load parameter may correspond toa variety of electrical properties of the load. In this way, the loadparameter may indicate a desired operation characteristic of the load.The load parameter may vary with application and load requirements(e.g., physical limits, technical specifications). The controller 80 mayuse a sensed parameter in determining a difference between the operationof the load and the desired operation of the load.

At block 134, the controller 80 may receive the sensed parameter fromthe sensor 75. The sensed parameter may include a signal indicative of ameasurement made by the sensor 75 regarding the operation the load. Asdescribed earlier, a communication component of the controller 80 maytransmit the sensed parameter from the sensor 75, which may be disposedat various locations with respect to the load. In some instances, theload parameter and the sensed parameter may belong to the same categoryof measurement (e.g., voltage measurement, current measurement, phasemeasurement). In this way, the controller 80 has a target amount (e.g.,load parameter) and an actual amount (e.g., sensed parameter) for theoperation of the load. However, when the load parameter and the sensedparameter belong to different categories of measurement, the controller80 may transform the sensed parameter into a measurement unit that maybe compared to the provided load parameter.

At block 136, the controller 80 may determine if a difference betweenthe load parameter and the sensed parameter is within a threshold. Thethreshold may be a range of values that are determined based on theload. In this way, the threshold may change based on how the load isbeing used and on what type of load is being used. The threshold maycorrespond to a desired range of operation of the load. When the loadoperates such that the difference between the sensed parameter and theload parameter is outside the threshold, the controller 80 may use thedifference to determine an adjustment to correct the undesired operationof the load.

As discussed above, if the difference is outside the threshold, thecontroller 80 may return to block 132 and continue to monitor the load.The controller 80 may continue following the method 130 until thedifference between the load parameter and the sensed parameter isoutside the threshold range. In this way, the controller 80 may continueto monitor the operation of the load.

If the difference is not outside the threshold, the controller 80 maycontinue to block 138 to determine an adjustment. The goal of theadjustment is to correct the undesired operation of the load. Thus, thecontroller 80 may adjust operation of the turbine system 12, thegenerator 66, and/or the generator 68 to correct the undesired operationof the load. In some embodiments, the controller 80 may use acombination of adjustments to adjust the operation of the turbine system12, the generator 66, and/or the generator 68 to correct the undesiredoperations of the load.

For example, the load parameter may define the desired operation of theload as operating at unity power factor. The controller 80 may use thedifference between the sensed parameter and the load parameter todetermine an amount of real or reactive power that generators 66 or 68should output to the load to maintain the desired operation of unitypower factor. The controller 80 may determine to adjust the generator 66to provide reactive power to the load or may determine to adjust thegenerator 68 to provide real power to the load. The controller 80 mayfurther determine the adjustment by determining adjustments to thecontrol signals provided to the starters 102 or 104 and/or the exciters106 or 108. The controller 80 may determine the adjustments to performsuch that the generators 66 and 68 output real and/or reactive power toachieve the desired operation of the load after the adjustment. Thecontroller 80 implements the adjustment via commands sent to the turbinecontroller 26, the exciter controller 30, and/or the starter controller28.

At block 140, the controller 80 may send a command to other controlcomponents to implement the adjustment. That is, the controller 80 mayimplement the adjustment through sending commands to the turbinecontroller 26, the exciter controller 30, and/or the starter controller28. The controllers may receive the commands and execute the commands,thereby performing adjustments to the operation of the turbine system12, the generator 66, and/or the generator 68. Through the execution ofthe commands indicating the adjustment, the load may operate as desired.

Technical effects of the present disclosure include power generationfrom a dual drive generator system. The dual drive generator system,using one rotational shaft to drive two generators, may improve theefficiency of power generation and may reduce physical size whilemaintaining the operational flexibility provided from using twogenerators for power generation. As described, one generator may coupleat the air intake side of a turbine system and one generator may coupleat the exhaust side of the turbine system, possible through the couplingof the two generators to opposite ends of the same rotational shaft. Insome embodiments, a controller may adjust the operation of the dualdrive generator system to adjust the system performance in response tosensed parameters in the load electrically coupled to one of thegenerators. In some embodiments, the dual drive generator system mayoperate the two generators independently of each other to providedifferent amounts of real or reactive power to one or more loads,electrical grids, and/or power islands.

This written description uses examples to disclose the embodiments,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the embodiments, including making and using any devicesor systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scopeof the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples areintended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structuralelements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, orif they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantialdifferences from the literal language of the claims.

1. A gas turbine, comprising: a rotational shaft configured to couple toa first generator and a second generator; and a controller configuredto: receive one or more load parameters that correspond to a first setof electrical properties associated with one or more loads coupled tothe first generator, the second generator, or both; receive one or moresensed parameters from one or more sensors configured to measure asecond set of electrical properties associated with the one or moreloads; determine one or more differences between the one or more loadparameters and the one or more sensed parameters; and control one ormore operations of the first generator, the second generator, or bothbased on the one or more differences.
 2. The gas turbine of claim 1,comprising: a first starter controller configured to receive a first setof commands from the controller based on the one or more differences,wherein the first starter controller is configured to control a firstset of operations of the first generator; and a first exciter controllerconfigured to receive a second set of commands from the controller basedon the one or more differences, wherein the first exciter controller isconfigured to control a second set of operations of the first generator.3. The gas turbine of claim 2, comprising: a second starter controllerconfigured to receive a third set of commands from the controller basedon the one or more differences, wherein the second starter controller isconfigured to control a third set of operations of the second generator;and a second exciter controller configured to receive a fourth set ofcommands from the controller based on the one or more differences,wherein the second exciter controller is configured to control a fourthset of operations of the second generator.
 4. The gas turbine of claim1, wherein the one or more load parameters comprise one or more voltagevalues, one or more current values, one or more power values, one ormore power factor values associated with the one or more loads.
 5. Thegas turbine of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are disposed atone or more locations within the one or more loads.
 6. The gas turbineof claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the one ormore operations by adjusting a rotation of the rotational shaft.
 7. Thegas turbine of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:determine whether the one or more differences are within one or morethreshold ranges; and control the one or more operations based onwhether the one or more differences are within the one or more thresholdranges.
 8. A gas turbine system, comprising: a rotational shaftcomprising a first side and a second side; a first generator configuredto couple to the first side of the rotational shaft; a second generatorconfigured to couple to the second side of the rotational shaft; and acontroller configured to control one or more operations associated withthe first generator, the second generator, or both.
 9. The gas turbinesystem of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to cause thefirst generator to output real power and the second generator to outputreactive power.
 10. The gas turbine system of claim 8, wherein thecontroller is configured to cause the first generator and the secondgenerator to output real power.
 11. The gas turbine system of claim 8,comprising an electrical grid configured to couple to the firstgenerator, the second generator, or both.
 12. The gas turbine system ofclaim 8, wherein the first generator is configured to couple to a firstload and the second generator is configured to couple to a second loadthat is different from the first load.
 13. The gas turbine system ofclaim 12, wherein the first generator is configured to output reactivepower to the first load and the second generator is configured to outputreal power to the second load.
 14. The gas turbine system of claim 8,wherein the first generator is configured to couple to an electricalgrid and the second generator is configured to couple to a load.
 15. Amethod, comprising: receiving, via a processor, one or more loadparameters that correspond to a first set of electrical propertiesassociated with one or more loads coupled to a first generator, a secondgenerator, or both, wherein the first generator and the second generatorare configured to couple to a shaft of a turbine; receiving, via theprocessor, one or more sensed parameters from one or more sensorsconfigured to measure a second set of electrical properties associatedwith the one or more loads configured to couple to the first generator,the second generator, or both; determining, via the processor, one ormore differences between the one or more load parameters and the one ormore sensed parameters; and controlling, via the processor, one or moreoperations of the first generator, the second generator, the turbine, orany combination thereof based on the one or more differences.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the first set of electrical propertiescomprises one or more voltage values, one or more current values, one ormore power values, one or more power factor values, or any combinationthereof.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second set ofelectrical properties is associated with one or more operationcharacteristics of the one or more loads coupled to the first generatorand the second generator.
 18. The method of claim 15, whereincontrolling the one or more operations comprises determining anadjustment based on the one or more differences in response to the oneor more differences being outside a threshold, wherein the adjustment isconfigured to cause the one or more differences to decrease.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein controlling the one or more operations ofcomprises sending a command indicative of the adjustment to one or morecontrollers configured to control the operations of the first generator,the second generator, the turbine, or any combination thereof
 20. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the one or more operations comprise causingthe first generator or the second generator to change a frequency value,a voltage value, a power value, a current value, a power factor value,or any combination thereof, associated with an output from the firstgenerator or the second generator.